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markedwithanm's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Homophobia
pomoevareads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
What might you speculate if you received a list with nine names on it and one of them was yours? None of the other names look familiar to you and then you are made aware that this list may put your life in danger. This is the premise of Nine Lives by Peter Swanson.
This is a fast-paced thriller with short chapters. There is a character chart at the beginning of the book which was very helpful when you have just a little time to learn about each character. The chapters count down as people are eliminated from the list, literally.
I have avoided reading Eight Perfect Murders by this author because I have been told that it spoils many other books. This one spoils And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie so if you have any plans on reading that one, it should be completed before this book. I did enjoy the many literary references throughout to books that characters were reading.
I would have appreciated more clues throughout the story rather than being handed the reason in an all in one fashion. I also found myself trying to put Linwood Barclay’s Find You First out of my mind while reading this one as it has a similar trope.
Overall, I enjoyed this one and will happily read more of Swanson’s books as I did enjoy the writing and character building.
Thank you to @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Nine Lives publishes March 15, 2022.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
what_heather_loves's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
"So here's the thing. There was an envelope at the scene of the crime, addressed to Frank.'.'He had the list?'. 'Exact same list. The one with your name on it.' 'Shit' Jessica said."
Imagine receiving a list of names, including your own, in the post and discovering other names on the list are people being killed. A man, Frank Hopkins, is found drowned on a beach in present day Maine in the USA. His hand is a piece of paper with a list of nine names, including his own. When another name on the list is found dead the FBI get involved, as well as a local Maine detective, Sam Hamilton, working the case alone. They try to track down all the names on the list, to offer police protection, with a couple of agents (including one whose own name is in the list, Jessica Winslow) begin to suspect the connection. Will the killer, and their motive, be discovered in time?
Influenced by Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, which is referenced in the book as being re-read by one Sam Hamilton, the readers is given the perspectives of each of the names on the list, nine people who don't know one another and don't appear to be linked. The readers gets to know and like, or dislike, the eclectic mix of characters and I become invested in seeing them survive, or equally felt it would be no loss to the world for those who are horrible people; there's also the perspectives of the FBI Agent Jessica Winslow and the Maine Police Detective Sam Hamilton, following the killer's trail and trying to protect the names on the list. I found it a fascinating concept and was surprised it held my interest bearing in mind the number of protagonists and how the story moved about between them and different locations, but it's well crafted, fast-paced with short chapters and it worked. An ingenious whodunit for fans of classic and contemporary mysteries.
Imagine receiving a list of names, including your own, in the post and discovering other names on the list are people being killed. A man, Frank Hopkins, is found drowned on a beach in present day Maine in the USA. His hand is a piece of paper with a list of nine names, including his own. When another name on the list is found dead the FBI get involved, as well as a local Maine detective, Sam Hamilton, working the case alone. They try to track down all the names on the list, to offer police protection, with a couple of agents (including one whose own name is in the list, Jessica Winslow) begin to suspect the connection. Will the killer, and their motive, be discovered in time?
Influenced by Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, which is referenced in the book as being re-read by one Sam Hamilton, the readers is given the perspectives of each of the names on the list, nine people who don't know one another and don't appear to be linked. The readers gets to know and like, or dislike, the eclectic mix of characters and I become invested in seeing them survive, or equally felt it would be no loss to the world for those who are horrible people; there's also the perspectives of the FBI Agent Jessica Winslow and the Maine Police Detective Sam Hamilton, following the killer's trail and trying to protect the names on the list. I found it a fascinating concept and was surprised it held my interest bearing in mind the number of protagonists and how the story moved about between them and different locations, but it's well crafted, fast-paced with short chapters and it worked. An ingenious whodunit for fans of classic and contemporary mysteries.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Child death
becca_thegrimreader's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Nine names appear on a list, each one of them is going to die. Told from multiple points of view, nine strangers each receive a list with their name on it. They don’t know the others on it, and attribute it to a random computer mistake. Then they begin to be killed off one by one……
I think I expected a little more from this book. Peter Swanson has become known for inventive and new concepts and plots, but for me this fell short. I found the multiple points of view tedious and confusing. There are many characters that I didn’t get to know very well, and the constantly changing narrative was jarring. I think that if there had been a few less characters it would have been a little more successful. This negatively affected the plot as we didn’t get a clear storyline apart from reading about each of the characters’ everyday lives, and there was very little insight into the investigation.
After all this I was hoping that the reveal would be dramatic and make up for the rest of the book. Unfortunately it was anticlimactic. To those who love crime novels and figuring out who it might, there is no possibility of identifying the killer here. We do not get any facts until the killer reveals them themselves. I was disappointed with the ending and felt that it didn’t make sense. It was a disappointing read which left me feeling slightly bored.
Thank you to Netgalley and Faber and Faber Ltd. for the copy of this book. My review is honest and unbiased.
I think I expected a little more from this book. Peter Swanson has become known for inventive and new concepts and plots, but for me this fell short. I found the multiple points of view tedious and confusing. There are many characters that I didn’t get to know very well, and the constantly changing narrative was jarring. I think that if there had been a few less characters it would have been a little more successful. This negatively affected the plot as we didn’t get a clear storyline apart from reading about each of the characters’ everyday lives, and there was very little insight into the investigation.
After all this I was hoping that the reveal would be dramatic and make up for the rest of the book. Unfortunately it was anticlimactic. To those who love crime novels and figuring out who it might, there is no possibility of identifying the killer here. We do not get any facts until the killer reveals them themselves. I was disappointed with the ending and felt that it didn’t make sense. It was a disappointing read which left me feeling slightly bored.
Thank you to Netgalley and Faber and Faber Ltd. for the copy of this book. My review is honest and unbiased.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Minor: Child death
bookishflaneur's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Nine Lives is a tense and thrilling murder novel which kept me guessing to the last minute. As with “Rules for Perfect Murders”, I found the build up and climax incredibly well written and something I never could have guessed. The characters were very much flawed, but as a reader I was still able to feel for their situation. Personally, I preferred RFPM, however the concept for this book is still very good and very well executed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Suicide
Moderate: Gun violence and Violence
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Stalking, and Toxic relationship
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